An Amazing Story of the Companion ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah | Commentary by Imam Albani Rahimahullaah

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Shaykh Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (d. 1420 AH/1999 CE):

This account was narrated by Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241 AH/855 CE) in his Musnad through nine chains of transmission. It was also recorded by Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah, and Ibn Saʿd (d. 230 AH/845 CE) in al-Ṭabaqāt, who narrated it through six routes, as well as others.

The first narration recorded by Imām Aḥmad has a ḥasan chain of transmission, the second is ṣaḥīḥ, the fourth is ḥasan, while some of the remaining chains are weak but are strengthened by supporting narrations.

As for the narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, there is some weakness in its chain; however, it too is strengthened by the preceding narrations. The chains recorded by al-Nasāʾī and Ibn Mājah are similarly supported. Regarding Ibn Saʿd’s narrations, the first is ṣaḥīḥ, the second ḥasan, the third weak, the fifth ḥasan, and the sixth contains severe weakness.

Taken together, the various chains establish the ḥadīth as authentic, if Allah ﷻ wills.

It was considered beneficial to gather these narrations together into a single continuous account. The fourth narration of Imām Aḥmad was adopted as the principal text because its chain is sound and it is the most comprehensive. Additional wording from the remaining narrations has been incorporated where appropriate, with suitable indication throughout.

The ḥadīth reads as follows.

ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah رضي الله عنه used to say:

“Indeed, there was a time when I was one quarter of Islam.”

In one of the narrations, Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī رضي الله عنه said to him:

“O ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah, a man of sound judgement and truthful reasoning, how can you claim that you were one quarter of Islam?”

He replied:

“During the Days of Ignorance (Jāhiliyyah), I had turned away from the idols worshipped by my people. I regarded the people as being upon misguidance and realised that they were worshipping idols which possessed no reality or worth.”

He continued:

“Then I heard of a man in Makkah who was conveying news and speaking remarkable words. I mounted my riding animal and travelled until I reached Makkah.”

He said:

“I enquired about him whilst he was staying near ʿUkāẓ. I found that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was concealing himself because his people were fiercely hostile towards him.”

“So I sought an opportunity to meet him privately. I entered upon him, greeted him with salām, and asked:

‘Who are you?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘I am a Prophet of Allah.’

I asked:

‘What is a Prophet of Allah?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘Allah ﷻ has sent me.’

I then asked:

‘Has Allah ﷻ truly sent you?’

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

‘Yes.’

I asked:

‘With what has He sent you? What is your message?’

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:

‘He has sent me to call the people to worship Allah ﷻ alone without associating anything with Him, to destroy the idols, to uphold the ties of kinship, to protect lives from being unlawfully shed, and to establish safety among the people.’

These are among the noble teachings of Islam, all of which embody goodness and represent the lofty ideals sought by mankind in every age.

ʿAmr رضي الله عنه said:

“I replied:

‘How excellent is that with which you have been sent.’

Then I said:

‘I bear witness before you that I have believed in you and accepted your message, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ.'”

This illustrates how some people possess hearts that are naturally sound and sincere. As soon as they recognise even a small portion of the truth, they embrace it, support it, and remain steadfast upon it.

By contrast, those whose hearts are afflicted with deviation or overwhelmed by doubts may be presented with countless proofs and evidences, yet they continue to demand more without ever accepting the truth.

The reality ultimately returns to the condition of the heart: whether it is sincere and receptive to the truth, or otherwise.

ʿAmr رضي الله عنه then asked:

“O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who has accepted Islam with you upon this affair?”

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

‘A free man and a slave.’

Another narration states that he ﷺ said:

‘Abū Bakr and Bilāl are with me.’

This also demonstrates the sincerity and honesty of the true caller to Allah ﷻ.

He neither exaggerates nor seeks to impress people by inflating the number of his followers. Rather, he speaks with complete truthfulness.

Although only two people were with him at that time, he openly stated the reality without embellishment or concealment.

Such sincerity and truthfulness form the very foundation of daʿwah.

This is the manner that every caller to Allah ﷻ should adopt.

In contrast, there are those who claim to work for Islam yet permit themselves to lie under the pretext that it serves the interests of the daʿwah.

Far removed is such reasoning from the truth.

How can the religion of truth and honesty ever be supported through lying and deception?

ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah رضي الله عنه continued:

“I asked:

‘What is Islam?’

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

‘Good speech and feeding others.’

I then asked:

‘What is īmān (faith)?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘Patience and tolerance.’

I asked:

‘Which aspect of Islam is best?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘That the Muslims are safe from your tongue and your hand.’

That is, which qualities of Islam are the most excellent, or which Muslims are the best.

I then asked:

‘Which aspect of īmān is best?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘Good character.’

I asked:

‘Which prayer is the best?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘Lengthy standing.’

The intended meaning of qunūt here is prolonged standing during the voluntary night prayer (Qiyām al-Layl). The Prophet ﷺ would recite lengthy passages from the Qurʾān during these prayers. Whenever he came across verses glorifying Allah ﷻ, he would glorify Him. Whenever he encountered verses mentioning the Fire, he would seek refuge with Allah ﷻ from it. Whenever Paradise was mentioned, he would ask Allah ﷻ for it, and whenever verses contained hope or fear, he would supplicate to his Lord accordingly.

I then asked:

‘Which migration (hijrah) is the best?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘That you abandon what your Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, dislikes.’

I asked:

‘Which form of jihād is the best?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘The one whose horse is struck down and whose blood is shed.’

That is, the one whose mount is slain and who himself is martyred whilst fighting the enemies of Allah ﷻ.

I then said:

“O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I wish to remain with you. Should I stay with you, or do you command me to return to my people? What do you advise?”

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

‘Do you not see the people’s hostility towards what I have brought? You are not able to remain with me at this time. Look at my condition and the condition of the people. Therefore, return to your family and remain among them until Allah ﷻ grants victory to His Messenger. When you hear that I have become established, then come and join me.’

Another narration states:

‘When you hear that I have openly emerged with my mission, then come to me. Soon Allah ﷻ will fulfil what you now see and will cause Islam to prevail.’

ʿAmr رضي الله عنه said:

“So I returned to my family having embraced Islam.”

Thereafter, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ migrated to al-Madīnah.

Naturally, many years passed between these events. During that period, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ endured the trials and hardships he endured whilst calling the people to Allah ﷻ, and ʿAmr رضي الله عنه remained away from him, hearing only occasional reports of his circumstances.

When news reached him that the Prophet ﷺ had migrated to al-Madīnah, he said:

“I began eagerly seeking news and questioning travellers about him after his arrival in al-Madīnah.”

Another narration states:

“Until a group of people from Yathrib came to me.”

I asked them:

“What has become of that Makkan man who came to you?”

He deliberately described him in this way so as not to reveal that he himself had already accepted Islam, fearing they might withhold information from him.

They replied:

“His people wanted to kill him, but they were unable to do so. They were prevented from harming him, and we left the people hastening towards him.”

That is, the people of al-Madīnah were embracing his religion in great numbers and with remarkable eagerness.

ʿAmr رضي الله عنه continued:

“I mounted my riding animal and travelled until I reached al-Madīnah. I entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and asked:

‘O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, do you recognise me?’

He ﷺ replied:

‘Yes. Are you not the Sulamī who came to me in Makkah and asked me about such and such, and I answered you in this and that manner?’

I replied:

“Indeed.”

ʿAmr رضي الله عنه then said:

“I seized that opportunity, recognising that there would never again be a time when my heart would be freer and more devoted than at that moment.”

Indeed, a believer should seize occasions of goodness whenever they present themselves.

So I said:

“O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, may Allah ﷻ make me your ransom. Teach me from that which Allah ﷻ has taught you, matters whose knowledge will benefit me without harming you, through which Allah ﷻ may benefit me.”

His request was for knowledge that would bring genuine benefit, knowledge that would neither burden the Prophet ﷺ nor remain merely theoretical, but would become a means by which Allah ﷻ would grant him lasting benefit.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:

“You have asked me about something concerning which no one before you has questioned me.”

He ﷺ then said:

“Yes. The latter part of the night is better than the earlier part. Indeed, Allah ﷻ descends during the last third of the night and forgives, except in the case of shirk and oppression (baghy).”

This ḥadīth has also been transmitted through other narrations. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH/1328 CE) gathered these reports together and discussed them with profound insight in his well-known work concerning the ḥadīth of the Divine Descent.

The Prophet ﷺ continued:

“Pray as much as you wish during that time, for the prayer is witnessed, attended, accepted, and recorded until dawn breaks.”

“When dawn breaks, then refrain from prayer until you have prayed the two rakʿahs…”

That is, the two units of the Sunnah prayer before Ṣalāt al-Fajr, followed by the obligatory prayer.

Another narration states:

“When you have performed the dawn prayer, refrain from praying until the sun has risen.”

He ﷺ further said:

“As long as the sun appears as though it is shielded, do not pray. When it rises, it rises between the two horns of Shayṭān, and at that time the disbelievers prostrate to it.”

He ﷺ continued:

“Once it has risen the height of a spear, or two spears, then pray, for the prayer is witnessed, accepted, and recorded.”

He ﷺ then said:

“Continue praying as you wish until the spear casts no shadow.”

That refers to the time immediately before the sun reaches its zenith.

He ﷺ continued:

“Then cease praying until the sun passes its zenith.”

That is, until the middle of the day has passed.

He ﷺ further said:

“When the sun reaches the middle of the sky, refrain from prayer until it begins to decline, for at that time Hellfire is kindled.”

Once the sun has declined from its zenith, he ﷺ said:

“Then pray as much as you wish until you perform the ʿAṣr prayer.”

Thereafter he ﷺ instructed:

“Then refrain from prayer until the sun sets, for it sets between the two horns of Shayṭān, just as it rises between the two horns of Shayṭān. At that time the disbelievers prostrate to it.”

Another narration adds:

“When you see it setting while red in appearance, resembling a shield, then refrain from prayer.”

I then asked:

“O Prophet of Allah ﷺ, inform me about wuḍūʾ.”

The Prophet ﷺ replied:

“There is not one of you who brings the water for his ablution…”

The Arabic language distinguishes between waḍūʾ, referring to the water used for ablution, and wuḍūʾ, referring to the act of performing ablution itself.

He ﷺ continued:

“…such that when a servant washes his hands, his sins fall away from them. Then, when he rinses his mouth, expels the water, inhales water into his nose and expels it, the sins committed by his mouth and nostrils leave with the water.”

“Then, when he washes his face as Allah ﷻ has commanded him, the sins depart from the edges of his beard along with the water.”

“When he washes his hands up to the elbows, the sins of his hands leave from the tips of his fingers with the water.”

“When he wipes over his head, the sins of his head leave from the ends of his hair with the water.”

“Then, when he washes his feet up to the ankles, as Allah ﷻ has commanded him, the sins of his feet leave from the tips of his toes with the water.”

The Prophet ﷺ then said:

“Thereafter he stands in prayer, directing his heart and his face entirely towards Allah ﷻ. He praises Allah ﷻ, extols Him, glorifies Him with the praise that befits Him, and empties his heart for Allah alone. Then he performs two rakʿahs, and he emerges from his sins just as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him.”

ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah رضي الله عنه narrated this ḥadīth to Abū Umāmah رضي الله عنه.

When Abū Umāmah heard of the immense virtue mentioned regarding these two rakʿahs, he said:

“O ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah, consider carefully what you are saying. Did you truly hear this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? Is all of this reward really granted to a person merely by standing and praying in this manner?”

ʿAmr رضي الله عنه replied:

“O Abū Umāmah, I have grown old, my bones have become frail, and my appointed time has drawn near. I have no need whatsoever to fabricate a lie against Allah ﷻ or against His Messenger ﷺ.”

He continued:

“Had I heard this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ only once, twice, or even three times, I would not have narrated it. Rather, I heard it from him seven, eight, ten, twenty times, or even more than that. That is why I have narrated it.”

Thus ends this remarkable narration as transmitted in the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمه الله.